Homemade Christmas Dinner Recipes
Updated on March 13, 2023
Have you ever been so excited for the Christmas season that you actually start planning the menu for your Christmas dinner really early in advance? We actually do that too, almost every year! We like the way that having a plan lets us try some things out beforehand to make sure we really like them, clear all the ingredients with our friends and family to account for allergies and dietary restrictions, and really just plan the perfect meal. It also sometimes helps us discovered unique and delicious new things to try out!
Just in case you’re feeling just as enthusiastic as we are, if not more, about the idea of finding unique new dishes for Christmas dinner and planning the perfect menu, here are 15 of the very best tutorials, flavour combinations, and recipes that we’ve come across so far in this season’s search for inspiration and guidance.
1. How to perfectly roast a turkey
Are you actually a bit of a beginner in the kitchen and you’re making your very own full Christmas dinner for your whole family for the first time, so you feel like you could use some guidance even when it comes to the classic elements of the meal? In that case, we think you simply must check out all the tips and helpful instructions that Chris Loves Julia has outlined for making the perfect roasted turkey.
2. Unique thyme pear gravy
If we’re being honest, we think the gravy might actually be our very favourite part of a Christmas meal. It just tastes so good on everything, so we’re constantly smothering our whole plates with it! That doesn’t mean, however, that we’re not open to the idea of putting a unique twist on our favourite thing. We actually tried this flavourful thyme pear gravy featured on Country Living last year and we couldn’t have been happier with it!
3. Crock pot honey glazed ham
Do you actually come from the kind of family who loves to celebrate family holidays and big meals with a delicious ham, whether that’s instead of or in addition to a turkey? Then you’ll need to make sure you’re ready to prepare the perfect ham for that first-time Christmas dinner we were talking about as well! Luckily for all of us, this tutorial from Jo Cooks has it covered well.
4. French onion mashed potatoes
Did we actually really catch your attention when we started talking about the idea of putting a unique twist on your usual favourite elements of the classic Christmas dinner, but you’re just not sure the gravy is what you want to change up? Then we’d suggest turning your attention to the mashed potatoes instead! Check out this tutorial from Yellow Bliss Road to learn more about how they made these fragrant French onion mashed potatoes that have a totally dreamy texture.
5. Sausage stuffing
If you’re going to think about whether you might like to add extra flavour to this many of your usual Christmas dinner characters so far, why not consider whether your stuffing can be amped up too? We’ve made this absolutely mouthwatering sausage stuffing several times before and it’s so darn good that we have the page from Dinner at The Zoo bookmarked so we can always do it again.
6. Cranberry sweet potato casserole
If you’re going to start getting creative with your Christmas dishes, would you actually rather think about looking at whether you can combine a few of them in one place for ultimate flavour? Well, if you’re a lover of both sweet potatoes and cranberry sauce, then we’d be willing to bet that you’ll adore this recipe from Homemade Interest for cranberry sweet potato casserole.
7. Goat cheese, butternut squash, and sage stuffed pork tenderloin
Are you actually quite experienced indeed in the kitchen and you’re looking for something that you can make for your immediate family’s Christmas dinner that’s a little unconventional and maybe even a little gourmet tasting? In that case, we think you just might be the perfect person to give this goat cheese, butternut squash, and sage stuffed pork tenderloin featured on The Kittchen a try!
8. Creamy green bean casserole
Now, we know that green bean casserole is actually quite a popular dish around the holidays, particularly when you have a full turkey dinner, but we only learned that recently. When we tried to learn more about it there were actually lots of recipes out there, so we tried as many as we could since we literally adore green beans. We’re pleased to announce that this one from Sally’s Baking Addiction was our favourite of all the options we cooked!
9. Parmesan roasted brussel sprouts with bacon
In our experience, brussel sprouts are one of those things that many people either really love or really hate, with very few people in between. With those who are on the fence about them, however, we find that we can usually convinced them about how delicious sprouts are by making them something like this delectable parmesan roasted brussel sprouts with bacon dish outlined with full instructions on Butter Your Biscuit!
10. Apple, cranberry, and rosemary stuffing
Did we actually really catch your attention well when we started talking about the idea of changing up your stuffing a little just to keep things interesting but you’re just not sure that the sausage idea we showed you earlier is quite the one for you? In that case, we’d absolutely suggest taking a look at how Cooking Classy made this apple, cranberry, and rosemary stuffing quite easily instead!
11. Sweet potato casserole with butter pecan crumble topping
Just in case you’ve been scrolling through our list hoping to come across different kinds of casseroles than just green bean because they usually tend to be your favourite dish whenever one is served and you’d like to have options, here’s another one for your consideration! We’re huge fans of the way Averie Cooks made this sweet potato casserole with a butter pecan crumble topping and also outlined the whole process so we can all try it as well.
12. Scalloped potatoes with caramelized onion and gruyere
Did we almost have you convinced when we started talking about unique ways to prepare the potatoes you’re planning on making for your Christmas dinner but you’re actually wondering you might rather try an alternative prep style to mashing them for once? In that case, we think you just might find what you’re looking for in the way Simply Recipes outlines this scrumptious recipe for scalloped potatoes with caramelized onion and gruyere!
13. Gingerbread cheesecake
If you’re going to do your best to find awesome recipes that will make your Christmas dinner experience filling and unique, you’d best find something decadent to make for dessert as well, right? Perhaps our very favourite dessert recipe that we’ve come across so far in our search for things we hadn’t tried before has thus far turned out to be this rich and flavourful gingerbread cheesecake outlined in just a few surprisingly simple steps on Life, Love, and Sugar!
14. Cranberry Christmas cake
Have we really got your attention with this talk of homemade Christmas cakes but you’ve actually never been the world’s biggest gingerbread fan? In that case, we think you might get a little more satisfaction out of making something like this perfectly textured and iced cranberry Christmas caked featured in useful detail and with full instructions on Let’s Dish!
15. Homemade candy cane pie
If you’re going to put in the time and effort it takes to make a unique Christmas dinner recipe from scratch, would you actually rather make something wonderfully wintery and maybe a little bit novelty, or something that will appeal especially to the kids? In that case, particularly if you’ve ever been a mint lover, we’d absolutely suggest taking a look at how Omg Chocolate Desserts made this mouthwatering and oddly refreshing candy cane pie!
Have you made other kinds of amazing Christmas desserts from scratch before that were a huge hit at your dinner but that you don’t see here on our list? Tell us all about it or link us to recipes in the comments section so we can try what you made out as well!